Ore concentrator or slimer.



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1912. Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

I. P. MONELL.

ORE GONGENTRAIIOR 0R SLIMER.

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I. F. MONELL.

ORB CONGENTRATOR 0R SLIMER. APPLIOATION FILED DEO.15, 1910. RENEWED APR.8, 1912.

1,041,842, Patented 001:. 22, 1912.

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I. F. MONELL. ORE GONGENTRATOR 0R SLIMER. APPLICATION FILED B30115,1910. RENEWED APR. 8, 1912. 1,041,842.

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IRA F. MONELL, OF BOULDER, COLORADO.

ORE CONCENTRATOR OR SLIMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

Application filed December 15, 1910, Serial No. 597,396. Renewed April8, 1912. Serial No. 689,409.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA F. MoNnLL, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Boulder, in the county of Boulder and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore Concentratorsor Slimers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in ore concentrators or slimers.

One object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means forseparating and saving the fine mineral which floats in the concentratingwater and is ordinarily carried away and lost in the tailings.

Another object is to provide improved means for adjusting the swingingframe endwise, said means being arranged at the front end of themachine.

Another object is to provide a four plane continuous surface forsupporting the upper stretch of the belt.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, combination and arrange ment of parts aswill be more fully described and particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan view of aconcentrator constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is aside elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on the oppositeside of the machine to Fig. 2; Fig. 1 is a trans verse section thereof;F ig. 5 is a perspective view taken from the front end of a portion ofthe frame of this improved apparatus with the belt removed.

In the embodiment illustrated, a supporting or main frame is showncomprising bottom sills 1, top sills 2, vertical supports 3, and crossbars a, connecting the bottom sills. The supporting posts 3 at the frontend of the machine preferably extend above the other supports 3 asuitable distance and are connected by a cross bar 5, for a purpose tobe described.

A plurality of legs 6 are adjustably connected at one end to theopposite ends of the cross bars a of the main frame, preferably adjacentto the inner faces of the bottom sills 1, and extend upwardly and aredesigned to support the agitator frame hereinafter to be described. Anydesired number of these legs 6 may be employed, according to the lengthof the slimer, four being here shown, arranged on each side of the mainframe. These legs are constructed of any suitable resilient material,prefer ably of hickory wood, and are preferably about two feet teninches high, though the height may be varied if desired. The lower endsof these legs 6 are provided with slots 7 of any suitable size toprovide for the end or sidewise adjustment of the legs, as desired,through which clamping bolts as 8 pass and engage the cross bars 1 tohold said legs in adjusted position.

The legs on one side of the frame are arranged in transverse alinementwith those on the opposite side and are connected at their upper ends bycross bars as 9. The legs 6 at the front end of the frame are providedin their upper ends on their front faces with blocks 10 and 11, whichare gained or mort-ised for about three-eighths of an inch deep, more orless, to receive brass bearing plates, as 12, against which theeccentrics hereinafter described are designed to bear.

A drive shaft 13 is arranged transversely of the main frame and issupported at its opposite ends in bearings mounted on the top sills 2.This drive shaft 13 projects at opposite ends beyond the sides of themain frame and is provided with any suitable operating means. A cogwheel 14: is secured to one end of the shaft 13 and meshes with a crowngear 15 supported in suitable brackets arranged at one side of the mainframe near its front end. A sprocket wheel 16 is connected with thecrown gear 15 and is operated thereby to impart motion to a worm shaft17 through a sprocket chain 18 which passes over a sprocket gear 19fixed to said shaft 17. A gear Wheel 20 meshes with this worm shaft 17and is driven thereby to impart motion to the belt driving drumhereinafter to be described, said gear wheel being mounted on the shaftof said drum.

Suitable eccentrics 21 are fixed to the opposite ends of the drive shaft13 in position to engage the brass bearing plates 12 on the blocks 10and 11 secured to the upper ends of the front legs 6. The rotation ofthe shaft 13 causes these eccentrics to intermittently engage theseblocks and force the legs forward, imparting about a five-eighth inchmovement, more or less, according to the size of the eccentrics, to theagitator frame which is mounted on these legs.

Rods 22 extend through the upper ends of the front legs 6 and passthrough blocks or brackets which extend laterally inward from the posts3. The projecting front ends of these rods 22 are provided with tailnuts as 2 1 between the inner faces of which and the blocks 23 aremounted coiled springs 25 which are designed to hold the brass bearingplates on the front legs 6 reliably in engagement with the eccentrics21, and also to return the agitator frame to initial position after ithas been moved by said eccentries. The tail nuts 24 are operable to varythe tension of the springs 25.

The swinging agitator frame which is mounted on the legs 6 comprisesside bars 27 and 28 which are bolted to the cross bars 9 which. connectthe upper ends of the legs 6, spacing blocks as 29 being preferablyarranged between the lower faces of the side bars 27 and 28 and thecross bars 9 to provide for the inclination of the tailing troughs 30and 31 which are arranged at one side of the apparatus and are inclineddownwardly from their outer toward their inner ends as shown clearly inFig. 3, which causes both of them to dischar e at their inner ends intoa suitable receptacle (not shown).

A plurality of cross bars as 32 are connected at their opposite ends tothe side members 27 and 28 of the swinging frame and are each preferablycomposed of two pivotally connected sections 33 and 34: to which thelongitudinally extending floor strips are secured, preferably by nailingor otherwise. These strips 35 are preferably corrugated longitudinallyon their upper faces to facilitate the passage of the belt thercover.The sections 33 and 34 of these cross bars 32 are preferably ofdifferent lengths, the section 33 being longer than the section 34, andthe upper face of its inner end being flat and straight for about twofeet, more or less, and its outer end inclined downwardly, the slope orinclination of said outer end being about one-fourth of an inch ineighteen inches. The section 34 is inclined downwardly and outwardlyfrom its inner pivoted end to a point about midway of its length, theinclination being about one fourth of an inch in fourteen inches, theinclination of the outer end of said section being about three-eighthsof an inch in eight inches. It will be observed that the second crossbar 32 is doubled to adapt the floor to be composed of sixteen footboards at its rear end terminating at this double cross bar 32 with thefront end of the floor composed of five foot four inch boards inclinedupwardly from said double bar to the front end of the machine. Thisconstruction of these cross bars provides a floor having four planes onits upper face for the passage of the belt thereover. The front end ofthe swinging frame is suspended from the cross bar 5 by means ofvertically disposed. rods, as 36 which extend through said cross bar andare preferably provided at their upper ends with nuts for varying thelength thereof. Two only of these suspension rods are employed, but theyare found to be very essential, as the strain or pull of the belthereinafter described which passes over said swinging frame, is all. atthis point where said belt passes over the driving drum to be described.

A plurality of belt guide rollers 37 are mounted at their opposite endsin suitable bearings on the top sills 2 and are preferably provided withflanges as 38 for preventing the lateral displacement of the belt duringits slack return movement. Mounted at opposite ends of this swingingframe 26 are two rollers {S 39 over which the belt to be described isdesigned to pass.

A driving drum 4L0 of any suitable construction is rcvolubly mounted atthe front end of the main frame in a plane below the agitator frame andto the axle of which the driving gear 20 is secured, and by means ofwhich said drum is driven.

The belt 4-1 is mounted longitudinally in the main frame and passes overthe rollers 39 at the opposite ends of the oscillating frame. This beltmay be of any suitable or desired construction, but is preferablyconstructed of alternate layers of rubber and canvas, and its upper facenear its opposite edges is preferably provided with a plurality oflongitudinally extending ribs or corrugations 12 to provide strength tothe edge of the belt, and also to catch any mineral. on the dischargeside thereof. This belt may be of any suitable length and of any desiredsize, but is preferably about fiftynine feet long and five feet wide.The up per stretch of this belt passes over the floor of the swinging oragitator frame, and the lower stretch thereof passes under and aroundthe drive drum or roller 10 and then upward and over a wrapping rollert?) to be described. The belt then passes over the flanged guide rollers37 arranged on the up per sills 2 intern'iediately of the ends of themain frame and then around a roller 4:41 mounted on the main frame atthe end opposite the drive drum carrying end.

The beltwrapping roller 43 is preferably mounted at its opposite ends inbrackets which project forwardly from the front end of the main frameand are pivotally connected at their inner ends to the posts 3 of saidframe. Beds 46 are connected at one end to the free ends of the bracketself) and depend therefrom,extending through bracle ets which are rigidlyconnected to the posts 3 in a plane below the brackets and which formguides for said rods 46. Tail nuts 48 are arranged on the free ends ofthe depending rods 46 and coiled springs 49 are arranged on said rodsbetween said tail nuts and the lower faces of the brackets at? and aredesigned to yieldably hold the wrapping roller 43 in engagement with theouter surface of the drive drum 40 whereby the belt ll is held reliablyin engagement with said driving drum and slipping of the belt prevented,the tension of the springs 49 being regulated by the tail nuts to varythe gripping action of the wrapping rollers. The construction of thesewrapping rollers holds the belt reliably in engagement with the drivingdrum without exerting any tension or strain on the lower or returnstretch of the belt, which must be slack, as shown in Fig. 2 to preventits disengagement from the guide rollers.

A. stock box 50 of any suitable construction capable of sizing the pulpinto four sizes before it is drawn to the distributing box is arrangedat one side of the apparatus near the rear end thereof, being preferablysupported on an upright 51 secured to the main frame. The pulp from thisstock box 50 is fed to a distributer box 52 arranged longitudinally onthe agitator frame 26 near one side thereof and preferably supported oncross bars held in spaced relation above the floor of said swingingframe a suitable distance to permit the passage of the belt 4C1thereunder by means of rods 54: projecting upwardly from the sidemembers 537 and 28 of said frame. Any suitable or desired number ofthese cross bars 53 may be provided, four being here shown. Thisdistributer box is divided into a plurality of longitudinally spacedcompartments five being preferably shown, and which are designed toreceive and distribute the four sizes of pulp discharged thereinto fromthe stock box through pipes The bottom of this box is perforated, andthe compartment at the front end of said box is de signed to receivefresh water for washing out the pulp. The box-supporting cross bars 53are preferably adjustable vertically to support the distributer box andthe fresh water pans hereinafter described any suitable or desireddistance above the belt. This adjustment of these bars 53 is preferablyaccomplished by screw threading the upper ends of the rods 54L andproviding them with nuts as 55 arranged both above and below said bars.

A fresh water pan 56 is arranged longitudinally above the belt 41, beingsupported on the cross bars 53 at any desired point to supply the freshwater just at the point of separation of the sand from the mineralbedded on the belt, thus dressing the sand farther away withoutdisturbing the min.-

eralbed formed on the belt. This trough 56 is preferably V-shaped incross section and is about four feetlong, more or less, being preferablyperforated in its bottom with the perforations preferably arranged abouttwo inches apart. Another fresh water pan 57 is arranged crosswise ofthe belt al at the front end of the machine, being preferably mounted onthe cross bar 5, and arranged near the side of the belt opposite to thatover which the distributing box is mounted, and is designed to wash backthe sands on the last twe ve inches of that side of the belt. This panis preferably about fourteen inches long, more or less, and isconstructed V-shaped in cross section.

A tie or truss rod 58 passes through the side rail 27 of the swingingframe and through a cross bar 59 secured to one of the lower beams 1.When this truss rod is tightened the front legs 6 on which the swingingframe is supported may be loosened and the front end of the frame movedupwardly by means of the hangers 36 to procure the desired inclinationof the swinging frame for dressing the sands back at the fresh water pan57.

In the operation of this concentrator or slimer, the parts being in theposition shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, lotion is imparted to the driveshaft 13, each revolution of which causes the eccentrics 21 securedthereto to bear against and force the resilient front legs 6 rearward,which causes the agitator frame 26 secured thereto and to the legs tomove longitudinally in one direction. The springs 25 exerttheir tensionin connection with the resiliency of the legs to return said frame toinitial position when the eccentrics move out of engagement with saidlegs, and hence a substantially continuous reciprocatory motion isimparted to said frame and the vibrations thereof are softened from asevere shock by the springs 25. The pulp is fed from the stock box 50through the pipes 55 to the respective compartments of thelongitudinally disposed distributing box whereby four different sizes ofore are distributed in four different places along the line of the belt,and water is supplied to said distributer from any suitable sourceentering the compartment at the front end of said distributer.

The water pans 56 and 57 arranged longi tudinally and transversely ofthe belt respectively, provide a broken series of water supply means todress the sands over the different planes lengthwise and crosswise ofthe belt and thus form a break in the line of supply which jumps overthe bed of mineral formed on the belt.

The floor of the agitator frame 26, which is mounted on the hinged crosssectional cross bars 32, may be adjusted vertically at any desired angleto vary its lateral in- L041 s re clination, and the four plane surfacepre: sented thereby to the belt permits the mineral to be bedded on thefirst plane a, and the sands redressed on the second plane Z) over thethird plane 0, and the steep incline of the fourth plane (Z allows thesands to pass rapidly over the corrugated edge of the belt 41 at thedischarge side of the machine and fall into the troughs 80. Thisarrangement of the floor provides a level panning condition at the pointof separation.

The belt traveling downward lengthwise.

carries the bedded mineral and silica under the wash water, which worksthe sand to the discharge side of the belt while themineral is borne tothe wash boxes, the mineral bed having been unbroken from the point ofseparation. The peculiar arrangement of the wrapping roller for foldingthe belt around the drive drum prevents straining or tightening of thebelt as a whole and permits the slack return thereof over the flangedguide rollers 37 whereby it is held against lateral displacement.

This construction of the concentrator, while very effective, enabling asaving of about eighty-four per cent., more or less, to

be made on the sulpho-tellurids, and aboutv fifteen per cent. to beadded to the saving of tungsten, is very simple and may be operated byinexperienced persons.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the construction and operation ofothe invention will beunderstood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a belt ore concentrator having a transverse. series oflongitudinal continuous plane surfaces, some of which are hingedlyconnected with others, one of said surfaces being arranged to bedmineral thereon, another to receive and redress the sands thereon, andanother inclined. laterally to permit the sands to .pass laterallythereover, and means for varying'the lateral inclination of said planesrelatively to each other.

,2. A concentrator having a four-plane longitudinal continuous beltsupporting surface, said planes being rigidly connected in pa'irs andsaid pairs pivotally connected at their inner ends to vary the lateralinclinat-ionof saidsupporting. surface, the initial plane beingadjustable and inclined reverselylto the transverse flow, and the transversely succeeding concentrating planes being inclined at varying anglesin the direction of the flow and a belt operable over said surface.

3. In a belt concentrator, the combination of a supporting structure, anagitator frame mounted therein, means for vibrating said frame, thefloor of said frame being composed of aplurality of sectional crossbars, the sections of said cross bars being pivotally connected and theupper faces of each cross bar having a transverse series of fourlongitudinally continuous planes, longitudinal strips secured to saidcross bars, the initial plane being adjustable and inclined reversely tothe transverse flow, and the transversely succeeding concentratingplanes being inclined at varying angles in the direction of the flow,and a belt operable over said floor. T A

4. A concentrator comprising an endless beltv whose surfaceis, dividedinto a transverse series of longitudinally continuous planes, theinitial plane being adjustable and inclined reversely to the transverseflow and the transversely succeeding concentrating planes being inclinedat varying angles in the direction of the flow, a shaking support forsaid belt and means for supplying pulp to the initial plane.

In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

IRA F. MONELL. Witnesses W. T. MoGlInNIs, H. M. WVILLIAMs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for'five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washingtomj I). 0.

